This is for you, for me and for anyone else who cares to listen.

Only a few weeks ago, back in December 2014, I heard so many people whining about how bad the past year was. I felt a mix of helplessness and anger; you still have your life and your health, what is to whine about. While your heart beats for another day you still have the opportunity to change your reality.

Change comes from you, from within; so listen up.

In 2015, you should aim to do things differently.

This year, I want you to focus on YOU. I want you to forget any bad juju you may have encountered, sour tastes, people, everything. Cast that aside, you have a blank canvas, or in my case, a black exposure. What are you going to fill this space with, how is it going to change you, what are you going to do differently today?

Nothing is unachievable, given time and planning, you can achieve anything you like. Anything…

This year, I want you to enter some competitions, as I will be doing the same. I want you to sit down with your work so far and look at it objectively. Ignore what you already know, how it was shot. You need to look at your work and analyze the light, composition, shapes and story. Now that you’ve put all your hard work and effort into preparing some entries – and be right about it, not just one or two. Three or four images. Besides the cost, and that should never be an excuse; if you want to improve you need to learn to put your work out there, further than Facebook and your family; into competition.

Now that you’ve spent all this time and money, I need you to expect to fail. I’m definitely not saying that after all this you’re doing it for nothing, no, you’re doing it for the realistic expectations that you are putting yourself forward in a way you might have not before, standing forth to be judged. Be brave and the community will respect you for it.

You need to expect to fail, and in doing so, you accept a reasonable amount of humility and learning that if someone beats you, it’s not wise or prudent or professional to attack judges or other entrants. Accept that you put your best work out there and if it’s not enough, so be it. Back to the drawing board, back to shooting, get on with it. Don’t be so easily broken, you’re stronger than that.

It’s so easy to be intimidated and overwhelmed by what everyone else in the community is doing. The work that shows up on 500px every single day, every hour is enough to make you want to cry sometimes (I know I feel that) but I want you to feel strengthened by it.  It should motivate you, not intimidate you.

You are part of an amazing community. Never before has the Australia-wide photography community been so diverse, multi-talented, friendly and alive. This goes on my eighth year of being a part of the rolling swell, the tide that sweeps us in and out, there has never been so much out there to set your mind on fire and cook ideas to perfection.

Study what the industry body is doing.  I sat and watched the APPA livestreams for years before I joined the AIPP in 2014. It was a big decision but ultimately it paves the pathway that I want to take for my professional practice; I don’t just have one, I have two. I chose that for me, and in turn met so many knowledgeable and talented photographers. It has opened my eyes to the immense talent out there, given me ideas to follow and taught me new ways of seeing the world. Join a camera club, join a group; be a part of something bigger.

This year, you should aim to go somewhere you never have been before. I’m putting this into practice, mostly. It’s a hard one to do yes, but whether big or small scale, seeing something new for the first time will allow you to look at it differently. Don’t look at others’ images before going, go in blind, shoot instinctively.

I know that in this digital age, cameras are getting better, processing technology is getting better. All these aspects of capture to post are developing at a rapid rate. You should not expect to grow at this pace either. If you’re new to digital photography, be prepared to work at it. All good things take time, and nothing that was ever worth doing was easy. Accept your journey and you will be richer of spirit.

The year ahead is your blank slate, take every day as a chance to shape that picture into what you want to see. If you love it enough you’ll find a way to create a balance, to make all the pieces go together.

What do you want to see in your retrospective next year?

Get out there, make it happen!